EGAS Gas Import Tender Attracts 18 Companies

Import tender floated by Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) for import of 2,000 MCF of gas per day has attracted 18 companies from Egypt and abroad, Daily News Egypt has reported. The winner will import and sell natural gas in the country.

“Offers are currently being made for the first part of what will be two stages of the bidding process. The first round will look to assess each company’s financial and technical offers and will conclude with contracts being signed at a later date,” the newspaper said quoting a company official who prefers to remain anonymous. The last day to submit offers to take part in the bidding was 22 November 2012.

EGAS stated that the results of the bid round will be announced in the first half of January 2013, and that operations will start no later than next May.

The amount of gas expected to be imported was estimated to be between 1,500 and 2,000 million cubic feet (MCF) per day. Egypt as a whole produces 6,000 MCF per day, 3,500 of which goes towards the country’s electrical consumption, with the rest slated for industrial and residential use.

The government’s decision to allow private sector companies to import gas came as an attempt to help close the current gap between supply and demand in Egypt, especially in the country’s electrical sector, whose rate of consumption is estimated to rise to 15 per cent higher than what was previously expected.